Pakistan rejects Indian President’s request to use Pakistan’s Airspace

September 7, 2019

Foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said in a statement that Pakistan has turned down the request of Indian President Ram Nath Kovind to use Pakistan’s airspace to travel to Iceland. The decision has been taken in view of India’s behavior.
“We have shown patience and raised the issue very cautiously but the Indian government does not change anything. It may be recalled that last month, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plane landed in France using Pakistani airspace, which was authorized by Pakistan,” Qureshi added.
India’s Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri recently told parliament that Indian air firms — Air India, SpiceJet, IndiGo, and GoAir — lost almost $80m because of the closure of Pakistani airspace.
Pakistan is considering the option of banning its airspace for Indian airlines and the final decision will be taken by the PM Imran Khan himself.